


Kaleidoscopic

by daintylemonsquare



Category: Dalton Academy Series
Genre: Bridget's Gays in Space AU, M/M, Porn With Plot, Smut, can i make it more obvious, foreplay for days, hella fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:41:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26418127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daintylemonsquare/pseuds/daintylemonsquare
Summary: After leaving Noctipyr, Reed Van Kamp slowly decides to let people touch him and let himself touch other people. Shane Anderson, in particular.
Relationships: Shane Anderson/Reed Van Kamp
Comments: 8
Kudos: 7





	Kaleidoscopic

**Author's Note:**

> I WROTE THIS FIC FOR MY FRIEND BRIDGET!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIDGET!!!!1 THANK YOU FOR CREATING THIS AU AND LETTING ME PLAY IN THE SPACE!!!!!!!!!! I HOPE YOU ENJOY!!! !

Here is what touching Shane feels like without gloves.

It’s the same feeling as the time he flew off Noctipyr, never to look back ever again. Same as telling his mother that she treats him more like an asset, a resource to manage, a machine that does what it’s told and creates what’s needed, than a son. Same as that first jump into the void of space towards a planet of mushrooms. He can never forget the rush, the satisfaction, and he won’t forget this one to. He won’t forget the look in Shane’s face and how his fingers trembled as their palms’ warmth mingle for the first time.

It’s the same feeling as being slapped by his mother. Only better. He hasn’t felt another person’s skin since then. It still rings across his cheek to the back of his head. That’s where the pain lingers. When Shane’s fingertips glide over the lines of his hand and up the length of his fingers, it rings. And it’s so loud. There’s no noise inside of him other than how Shane makes him feel. Every nerve vibrates. Every follicle stands in attention, admiring this momentous decision to remove his glove. He doesn’t gasp but he sighs. It’s more of a relief than it is a shock to his system. He’s free of the last shackle.

It feels like holding aerogel. As light and as solid. Shane turns both their hands. When previously Shane would squeeze tight in an attempt to bypass the sturdy layer of leather that shielded his skin. His thumb runs across each knuckle, a soft glow of red, then gold, follows it. His own thumb bumps into each of Shane’s fingertips, rough with all the years he’s spent surviving alone, yet somehow still soft with the way he uses them.

It feels like that time Shane first saw him, unlatched jaw and reverent. Like it’s the first time he’s seen a supernova up close. No one else has ever even seen his hands. He’s never taken his gloves off outside his private quarters. Shane knows this. This is a gift that he’s been meaning to give Shane but has always found a way to talk himself out of it. His best, least regrettable decisions are often spawned out of impulse. This is one of them.

This is what touching Shane Anderson for the first time without gloves feels like. 

Shane cradles it with both hands now. The metal of his other hand sends a shiver across his warm, glowing skin. He leans down, pressing his lips on Reed’s knuckles. This is their routine after a long day on the ship or following another date amongst the stars. Shane walks him back his quarters and plants a kiss on his hand goodnight. Shane aches to be kissed, Reed knows (he aches for it too). They both know the boundaries that prevent that. There are still boundaries to cross. But when Shane’s lips meet the thin skin of Reed’s hand, and bright gold branches of light bloom into view, stretching far into his wrist and up his neck where his pulse quickens, the urge to take Shane’s face with both hands and kiss him is palpable. What stops him is what usually stops him—internalized rules of extreme propriety, and doubt. This is overwhelming. He can’t swim any deeper than he already is.

Shane gasps when he pulls away and a brief, but sharp, buzz pierces the stunned silence Reed’s created.

“What?” Reed whispers.

“Sparks,” Shane replies. His tongue slides over his lips then he sucks them in before it spreads to a grin. “I felt sparks,” he adds, giggling. “You’re all…” He gestures with his metal hand around Reed’s glow. “Wow.”

“Yeah. That happens sometimes…with prolonged contact,” Reed says. And with passionate contact, Reed doesn’t say.

“Oh.” Shane nods. He’s still holding Reed’s hand and Reed can’t stop cycling rapidly through every feeling he’s experiencing and apparently, all of those feelings blend to gold. When it comes to Shane, it’s almost always gold.

They say their goodnights. Shane still hasn’t let go of him as if magnetized into place. They stare at their hands and at each other, thumbs twiddling with knuckles and fingertips. When they do let go, it’s not without enormous hesitation. Shane walks backward until their arms can’t stretch any farther. Reed holds his exposed hand to his chest. Shane kisses his own hand before turning around.

Reed stares at his hand until he can’t stay awake.

* * *

Reed can hear the celebration through the walls. It’s been a long week, chasing a large bounty across two star systems. The crew’s been so wiped that they haven’t had a chance to do a proper congratulatory party for themselves until they’ve released the bounty to the people who’d asked for their aid and found a place to park their spaceship. Even then, it’s the day after. The morning and afternoon were spent gathering food and drink across the small archipelago of Asteroid Outlets in the belt.

“Nothing’s going to go wrong, you know,” a crackling voice says.

Reed looks to the speakers above the door. “I know, Han, I know.” He rubs his hands over his arms as though cold. The ship’s temperature controlled. It’s always comfortable for everyone, but the air is different on exposed skin. Nothing provocative. A simple short sleeved shirt and a pair of pants. By many standards, this is covered up. This is modest. Yet Reed still feels like he’s free balling across the ship like that one time the twins snorted too much of that drug they got from behind the Stuart Saloon.

“Then why are your cortisol and adrenaline levels slowly getting higher?”

Reed shakes his head. “Don’t remind me.”

“I just want to understand. If you know that you’re safe, why are you afraid?” Han asks.

“This is uncharted territory for me.” He sighs. “Remember that time we went to the edge of the universe and your mapping systems went down and you weren’t able to locate a way out?”

The camaraderie behind the door fills the void Han leaves. Reed wonders if he’s bored Han with his emotional response to what should be commonplace to the rest of the crew. Then Han says, “That seems like a hyperbolic connection. We were going to die if we pass the edge of the known universe.”

“It’s like that but in a less dire way,” Reed supplies.

After another moment of thoughtful silence, or as thoughtful an AI can be, Han says, “You meat sacks are so confusing sometimes. It’ll be fine.”

“Yeah…you’re right.” Reed presses the button to open the door.

“Eyy! Dormouse!” The twins call. Reed clenches both hands and steps out of the shadows. “Finally! We were just about to cut the…” The conversation and revelry trail off.

“Cake,” Ethan finishes.

“Wow,” Evan says.

Shane stands. “Reed.”

Again, what he’s wearing is nothing that the rest haven’t worn themselves. He’s wearing boots that don’t go too far above his ankles, with dark pants tucked into them. His shirt is made of the same sturdy, projectile and fireproof material he, Drew, and Satoru developed for the crew after an ambush while they were all asleep. The dark gray is stark against his white skin and the creeping glow of brown beneath it. Reed blows out a long, calming breath. He manages to smile, though the dim glow in his veins betrays how he feels about the attention everyone’s giving him. He moves his arms behind himself then decides against it. He can’t keep hiding.

"Woah, what’s this?” Charlie asks. 

He avoids eye contact but he tries to look at the direction of the crew, who’ve liberated him and given him purpose. He looks to Drew, who’s stopped pouring an iridescent drink into Satoru’s rectangular mug. He looks to Charlie, leg propped on a chair and arm leaning against his knee. His gaze moves to the person he’s been talking to, Kurt. Kurt, one of their newest recruits, sitting on Wes’s lap, is already grinning from ear to ear. He’s tearing up and Reed fears that he’ll be next. His eyes flick to a different side of the table, with David putting down the utensils he’s been using to carve a roasted eye-legged beast. And when he can’t avoid it, he turns to Blaine, who is looking up at an awestruck Shane.

Reed raises his arms and lets them flop to the side. “I figured it was time. You guys are family.”

“Does this mean we can hug you?” Ethan asks. Evan nods.

“Yeah.”

The twins’ arms spread wide. "YEAH!” They run for him.

Reed is bracing himself for impact, eyes closed and arms to his chest, when Charlie shouts, “Hey! Stand down!”

The twins skid to a stop. “But—”

“I know,” Charlie says, leaning on his knee. “But don’t you think someone else gets to hug him first?” He cocks his head to Shane’s direction. Shane, who is still unmoving from where he’s standing, eyes flitting back and forth between Reed’s exposed arms to his face. Blaine, who’s sitting to his left, reaches up and shoves him forward.

Though they pout, the twins part for Shane. His awe turns into joy and he’s grin is as bright as the blue super giant they’re orbiting. He reaches toward Reed, who takes an automatic step forward.

The brown glow gives way to red, then to pink. And when they touch, it turns to gold. It’s a proper glow, dimmed only by Shane’s body slotting around his. Much like the first night they touched, Reed feels the rush of freedom drowning the ingrained nagging in the back of his head that scolded him for not only touching a commoner but being held by one too. He didn’t hug others often on his planet. People in high places act as though the less they’re touched, the better they are. Not even family members did more than shake hands or offer a pat on the back. Reed almost doesn’t know what to do with his hands now that his arms are around Shane’s waist and his face is right against Shane’s frenetic heartbeat. He closes his eyes, savoring the moment his hand lands on Shane’s back, the fabric folding into his fists. He can feel the heat emanating from Shane. This is what life feels like. Reed’s forgotten what it means to hold a living being in his hands. Reed’s forgotten what it means to be held, and be tangible in another person’s arms. He’s shaking with tears.

Meanwhile, Shane’s hand, the biological one, traces Reed’s form. Splayed fingers map Reed’s spine, his neck, and the back of his head. Shane inhales him, as though he hasn’t complimented how wonderful Reed smells and remarked on his ability to smell this clean. Shane plays with a curl on the back of Reed’s head and Reed sighs into Shane’s chest. He smells of food, and barbecue smoke, and asteroid dust, and the inside of Drew and Satoru’s workshop, and a long day under the blue glow of what constitutes as this system’s sun.

“What’s the occasion?” Shane whispers. They start swaying from side to side. The room is quiet. Whether the rest left or if they’re just watching, Reed won’t notice. He’s too busy processing every sensation he’s experiencing all over his body. Shane’s been described as a sensory overload by his brother. Reed forgets why that has a negative connotation.

“We’re alive. Is there need for specifics?” Reed mumbles.

Shane chuckles and Reed trembles in the same tempo Shane’s chest does. He doesn’t want to let go.

* * *

Habits don’t die so easily. Reed still finds himself reaching for his gloves, wearing clothes with long sleeves, clasping his hands behind his back, and shying away from people when they come close to melee range. It’s instinctual. They understand that there’s many things that Reed needs to unlearn.

Noctipyran high society seems so delusional, looking back at it now. The layers of clothing signifying status and symbolizing purity. And the need for purity itself, also strange, considering a large part of the planet and its native species experience tactile freedom wherever they go. The colors are beautiful too—Shane reminds him all the time. They creep into view both when Reed expects it and least expects it, and for so long shame sloshes around his stomach when he sees it. If he sees it, others can see it, and if others can see it, he’s no better than the commoners. And if he’s no better than the commoners, he’s a failure, he’s unworthy of his titles. These days, he finds joy in the way that others coo when he glows and it’s so easy to speak of his feelings knowing that there’s a shortcut to them.

Reed wonders what the point was of hiding and suppressing one’s self, and to an extent, one’s beauty, for the sake of social power. For the sake of stilted reverence. For the sake of a hierarchy created by a royalty hundreds of years ago.

Reed wonders if that gives the nobles the same happiness he feels when he holds Shane’s hand and feeling the texture of his skin or when he’s pulled into a tight hug by the twins for no other reason than just to show affection or when he bumps into Kurt’s shoulder while they’re working to cut into the day’s work with playfulness.

Reed wonders, as he’s leaning into Shane’s chest while watching several concurrent eclipses at Noivfes Gamma, with Shane’s regular arm draped on him, tracing waves over his arm, if this is an inevitability. That he would’ve either ran away from Noctipyr or withered in it.

He tightens his hold around Shane’s waist as the light around them dims and everyone expresses their awe at the multiple moons covering multiple stars and the strangely hued coronas. Shane’s fingers settle on Reed’s arm. He plants a kiss on top of Reed’s head. “You’re still prettier than the view,” Shane whispers. “The only difference is that this only happens once in a millennia, and you’re right here with us.”

Reed’s pink all over. Kurt throws a blanket over him so they can still keep eclipse-gazing without interference. That in place, Reed chances a short squeeze on the inside of Shane’s thigh.

“Not during a rare celestial event,” Shane whispers in jest.

“Yes during a rare celestial event,” Reed retorts. A flash of yellow appears through the pink. Only Shane sees. Reed winks as his fingers ghost over Shane’s crotch before wrapping his arms around him again. Shane shifts a little in their seat but they return to the eclipses.

* * *

It’s all chaste and above the belt for a short while. Shane is respectful of boundaries, even when Reed isn’t saying anything purposefully to push himself into comfort, noting when Reed seizes up and when he hesitates. Reed, despite wanting to experience every level of physical intimacy all at once, realizes what he’s ready for and what he isn’t. They work on it until Reed’s hands wandered on their own. Even in places outside their, now shared, sleeping quarters.

Yet, Reed hasn’t taken the full, naked plunge with Shane. Despite having done a lot of touching, it’s all been through clothes once more. He hasn’t been naked in front of another person since he was an infant. Shane’s well-acquainted with his body but Reed keeps finding himself balking the moment Shane’s fingers slip underneath his shirt and it rides up. The insecurities that crop up are unfounded. There’s no reason to fear Shane’s reaction to the sight of his body, and yet it remains, lying about Shane’s impending rejection. Once he’s able to quell that, it reignites into anxiety over how the actual act of sex is going to go and how his inexperience will definitely ruin everything.

He doesn’t want to ask Han, because that’s mortifying. He doesn’t want to ask the twins, because they’ll have too many questions and he’s a little afraid that they’ll want to watch and he’s not sure if that appeals to him or Shane. He doesn’t want to ask Kurt even though he’s the one Reed’s closest too out of all the crew. His powers are growing in unexpected jolts, so Reed rather not have him blurt it out for everyone to hear and he might say something too far ahead that Reed won’t be able to stop overthinking. And he doesn’t want to know what the future holds for him and Shane. He really doesn’t. He wants it to last, of course, but for so long his life was a series of checkpoints and milestones set by his mother. He doesn’t want to be confined to a future divined by his clairvoyant friend.

That’s why, one night, when Reed finds himself unable to continue with Shane and Shane asks him what’s wrong, Reed ends up saying, “What if I shit on you?”

Shane snorts. “Excuse me?”

Reed slaps both of his hands against his face and props his elbows on his knees. Of all the words he could’ve strung together in that moment, he chooses those. He wishes he can just fade into the stars, never to having to remember this moment ever again. Shane scoots beside him, a comforting arm around him. “It’s okay.” Shane’s decided not to mock him for it. What a consolation.

“It’s not,” Reed mutters into his hands.

“It is. Talk to me. You’re afraid you’re going to sh—” he snorts again. “That—” It turns into a giggle. Reed uses one hand to hit him and he hits the metal arm. He cries out, pain webbing through ever nerve in his arm. “Oh fuck. Reed! Are you okay?” Shane’s touches his hand and the cool metal of it is a bit of a balm to the bruise Reed knows is already forming

“Fuck. I can’t do this,” Reed mutters again.

“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. You know that,” Shane says. His biological hand rubbing the side of Reed’s arm.

“That’s the thing,” Reed says within a groan. “I want to. I want to but I’m…You know…” He waves his hands around, hoping to catch the right words that won’t make him sound like someone that Shane won’t want to be with anymore. “I don’t know what I’m doing, Shane. I don’t know what to do if we… have sex.” The word barely squeezes itself through Reed’s mouth. “Kissing, sure. It’s not overly complicated. It’s two lips together. Just touching. A lot of touching. I’ve seen people kiss before. I catch Drew and Satoru doing it in the workroom, like, all the time, you wouldn’t believe. I have a reference for that. But sex? Nothing. At all. The closest thing I’ve ever been to sex is—well, with you—but that’s not the point. The closest I’ve ever been is reading about it from a textbook and Noctipyran sex education is so convoluted, especially with the laws we have to worry about. Not to mention that urban legend that our blood will start to boil if we have sex outside our station. Like I know kids have friends to talk about that kind of things but I didn’t have friends growing up and all I had was my pet sainernard and those things do nothing but float beside you—Why do you look like you’re enjoying this?”

Shane has his head propped on his metal arm’s knuckles. His smile, lit by the green glow coming from Reed’s blood, is broad and dopey. “I just love listening to you ramble.”

Reed huffs. “I’m glad this is entertaining to you!”

“’Drew and Satoru make out in the workroom? Is that why we don’t do it there?” Shane starts to laugh.

“Don’t tell them I told you that!” Reed whines.

“No, I won’t, I promise.” He reaches up to cup Reed’s face with his metal hand. Reed leans into it. Even though he prefers Shane’s other hand on him, it’s still as tender and gentle. The only difference is the cooler temperature and the occasional whir of machinery. “Can I tell you something?” Reed nods. “Sex doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s not the end if it’s not perfect. I’ve had worse things happen to me than have someone shit on my dick but that’s a story for another time—I don’t want to ruin the mood.”

Reed laughs without meaning to. “Mood’s pretty ruined.”

Shane strokes his cheek with a thumb then moves to take both Reed’s hands into his own. Reed closes his fingers over Shane’s. “Do you believe me when I say that there’s nothing you can do that’ll turn me away from you except if you explicitly say that you want nothing to do with me anymore?”

Reed’s head jerks up. “I will never say such a thing.”

Shane’s grin softens. He pulls Reed’s hand up to kiss it. “I know.” The words ghost over Reed’s knuckles. The green’s faded into pink. “That’s why you don’t have to worry about shitting on me or not know what to do. To be honest, even though I’ve gotten around in a couple of galaxies, all I learned is that everyone’s pleasure is different. I haven’t figured out the one secret position that’ll make sure everyone has a good time and a good orgasm. It’s something I like to figure out on the fly. With you...All I want is that you’re comfortable and that you feel good. You could say I’m about as worried as you are. Like what if you expect me to be some sort of sex god that’ll blow your mind, you know? I’m afraid I won’t live up to who you have in your head.”

The glow fades except for the gold that winks into view from time to time in his hands. Now that it’s all out in the open, everything he’s been fretting about wilts in how silly it sounds. He still finds himself cowering at the thought of sex. With Shane, it probably won’t be as catastrophic as he fears it might be.

“I’ve been too plagued by how I might be bad at it to worry about how good you’ll be at it, to be fair,” Reed says.

“Good. Let’s go into this with zero expectations of each other.” Shane picks up Reed’s hand and shakes it. “Deal?”

Reed nods and tugs at Shane’s hand to seal it with a kiss. He feels Shane’s smile stretch into his own.

* * *

Here’s the thing with kissing Reed Van Kamp.

It’s the thrill of every lightyear Shane’s ever jumped. It’s the pull of an event horizon. It’s the taste of a superstorm on the planet Valsuvio—the planet where he began to lose feeling in one of his arms. It’s escaping a stampede of violent beasts by jumping down raging falls made of sparkling, jagged diamonds. It’s what happens after a kilonova. He can’t get too close, lest he be consumed. He can’t enjoy it too much that he gets too excited. He can’t forget to be careful. But he tries to push it where he can. Though his impulses tell him that bypassing the boundaries can lead to great adventures, he reminds himself of the consequences. And with Reed, he can’t afford consequences.

That’s the thing with kissing Reed Van Kamp.

Until, this one time while they’re free floating in space, hitching a ride on a comet to get them to their destination (the mission requires as much fuel as they can spare), that he feels Reed’s fingers on the zipper of his shirt and Reed says, “Undress me.”

Shane pushes his weight off of Reed’s body. He must’ve misheard. Surely. This is a vivid dream. “What?”

Reed Van Kamp’s eyes flutter and focus on his. There’s a flicker of yellow in the vessels of his cheeks. “Undress me,” he repeats. His lips remain parted as his eyes move past Shane’s face to where his zippered shirt is being unzipped. “Before I overthink it.”

“If you’re sure,” Shane stammers.

Reed’s other hand moves from the nape of Shane’s neck and into his curls. Reed pulls him down for a kiss that is consuming Shane with heat from the inside out. Their tongues meet, eager and needy. Shane tastes the spark that crackles off the tip of Reed’s tongue. Reed’s sigh smells of the promise of rain. Shane’s sure that Reed’s sure and that’s what’s important to him.

He sits upright when Reed pulls away, hands just hovering over Reed’s shirt. It’s thin fabric but it feels like lifting a wall. The joints of Shane’s fingers brush over lush cream colored skin as he takes Reed’s shirt off. Reed’s hair bounces back into place when the collar finally releases it. Their eyes are locked into one another but Shane notes the pink that begins to branch under Reed’s skin. In the meantime, Reed’s unzipped him. The fabric hangs limp on his shoulders, already sliding off before Reed can push it off.

Reed gulps. “You have a really nice body...” His hands run over the planes of Shane’s body, scars and all, causing several tingles to appear in several areas in resounding harmony.

“Not nearly as nice as yours.” Reed skin is flawless. A lot about Reed is flawless but his skin is devoid of any blemishes or any sort of textured topography. Royalty’s skin. Untouched skin. And Shane has the honor of experiencing it and being allowed to experience it.

Reed runs his fingers over a long scar he has on the side of his torso. “Yours has a story. Mine’s so blank. I like yours better.” Then his thumb brushes over one nipple and Shane wants to moan so badly but he doesn’t want Reed to know how desperate he is for him.

Shane holds Reed’s chin in the crook of his finger, tilting his head up. “Agree to disagree.” Then brings him to another kiss where he can give hints to Reed about how desperate he is for him. He’s more articulate when he isn’t speaking. It’ll go over better.

The kiss goes deeper and deeper as though Shane’s memorizing how Reed tastes as if he doesn’t think about Reed’s lips at any given moment. He lies on top of Reed, one hand holding Reed’s head in place while the other carries part of his weight so Reed can still catch a breath. A heady warmth blooms over his body from skin to skin friction and the promise of more. Small, short shocks happen in quiet zaps between the two of them. Shane giggles, remembering all of the “I feel sparks” jokes he’s exchanged with Reed. Reed giggles too and Shane knows he’s remembering the same.

Shane moves his lips from Reed’s to the velvety skin of his neck. Pink gives way to varying shades of violet. Reed’s hand rises to thread through Shane’s curls while the other holds onto his shoulder. His breaths grow slow and long. When Shane’s lips close over the space below Reed’s jaw and he sucks, Reed’s breath hitches. A flash of silver, then yellow, and slowly back to violet as Reed moans softly. Shane smiles and does it again. Reed’s fingers dig into his scalp.

Soon, he moves lower, mouthing a map of areas that makes Reed flash silver or make his breathing stutter. His fingers unbutton the buttons of Reed’s pants one at a time. He rolls one of Reed’s nipples with his tongue and Reed squirms, whining and bucking upward into Shane’s torso. He’s hard and Shane’s blood sings about what that entails. He grinds into the bed even though he wishes he’s grinding on Reed again.

He runs his tongue over to the other nipple and plays with it. Reed’s nails rake over the muscles of Shane’s shoulders. Shane hums, sucking on it before looking up at Reed. “Feel good?” Reed nods. Shane does it again. “Yes,” Reed exhales and it’s beautiful.

Shane tugs on Reed’s pants while Reed tries to kick it off. They giggle at each other as Reed almost kicks Shane’s face. Shane kisses that giggle. Reed unbuckles Shane’s belt and begins pushing the loosened hem away as they kiss. Then Shane follows the earlier route he mapped on Reed’s body until he reaches the desired destination. Shane’s hunger brightens when his lips and nose brushes against a light dusting of hair near Reed’s crotch. Shane pauses, expecting Reed to draw a line. When he doesn’t, Shane begins tracing the outline of Reed straining against his underwear. He’s salivating even before he even has Reed completely in his mouth. There’s another flash. Violet, silver, then copper.

Shane stops. This one’s new and he looks to Reed. “You okay?”

Reed heaves in a breath and nods. “Yeah.”

“Are you sure.”

“Yeah. It…it was nice. Keep going,” Reed says. “I, um, prepared beforehand. So. Everything’s real…sterile. Clean.” Shane laughs and Reed joins him after a moment of hesitation.

Shane fingers slip into the elastic of Reed’s underwear, playing with it. Shane nibbles on the bottom of his lip and, for the first time, he’s bashful. “Can I suck your dick then?”

Reed’s mouth bobs. “Sure.”

“Let me know if it becomes too much for you, okay?”

“Yeah…okay.”

Shane pulls down the last bit of clothing Reed has on him. It’s beautiful. Of course, it’s beautiful, it’s Reed’s. Everything about him his beautiful. At the same time, with Shane’s fingers curling around it, he can’t help but think about every dick he’s ever sucked in the known universe and he can say for certain that this one’s gorgeous. And to think, nobody other than Reed’s ever touched it. His lips are soggy before he even has it in.

The moan that ignites the anticipatory silence makes Shane soar. He closes his eyes as more tumble out of Reed. He goes low, until the tip of it begins to reach the back of his throat. Reed squirms, lights flashing outside Shane’s lids. He hollows his cheeks, moving upward, sucking the entire length of Reed. More flashes of light, almost in tandem with the shiver that passes Reed’s knees. Shane does it again, bobbing his head and running his tongue over Reed’s hardened flesh, drowning himself in Reed’s moans, groans, and praises. It’s wet with his spit when parts with it to look at Reed’s bliss. His lips tingle with a spark of energy that whips from the tip of Reed’s dick and across a line of spit that hangs between them. He strokes Reed as he turns his head to the side, bending to mouth at Reed’s balls. Reed’s legs settle on Shane’s shoulders until Shane pushes Reed’s thighs apart and up, so his tongue can tease Reed’s entrance. It’s silver for a bit.

When Shane rises, arms braced on the bed and they share another kiss, it fades back into gold. “How are we feeling?” Shane asks.

“I think you know the answer.” Reed runs his hands over Shane’s back and slides his legs against Shane’s. “You can see how.”

“Yeah, but I’d love to hear it straight from the source,” Shane winks.

Reed laughs, turning away, a broad, broad grin stuck to his face. “You make me feel like melting, Shane Anderson. And this is just the beginning, right?”

“Scared?”

“Yes, but like that time you took me to those mushrooms. It’s a weird mix,” Reed says.

“That was our first date,” Shane replies.

Reed leans up to kiss him and his lips linger there. “You’re a lot of my firsts and I wouldn’t want any more.”

Shane face hurt with how much he’s smiling. His chest is so full that he can’t believe he’s still able to keep himself upright. He sits on his legs, Reed’s thighs on his hips. He looks around the room. “So…you prepared. Does that mean you have lube? Protection?”

Coherency blinks itself back into Reed’s expression. “Yes. Um…” He turns to one side of the bed and reaches for the drawer. He pulls out two bottles, one with a spray nozzle and one with a twist-off cap. “We probably should’ve done the protection thing before…” Reed waves around his crotch.

“Eh, I trust you not to have contracted any STSI’s.” Then Shane uncaps the spray nozzle and sprays a little bit on his mouth. Mint. Classic choice. The taste disappears within a second. He proceeds to spritz Reed lower region and then he takes his own underwear off to spray himself. It’s cool to the touch then it’s like nothing at all. He notices Reed’s cock twitching at the sight of him. That’s always nice to see. “Better to be safe.” Then he unscrews the lid on the lube, he taps on a few buttons on his right arm and he shoves the tip into an receptacle that spirals open at the crook of the elbow. He squeezes some lube in.

“What are you doing?” Reed asks.

Shane’s brows knit together. “Lubing up?” 

“Your cybernetic arm?”

Shane shoots him a mischievous look. “Will you still wanna go on if I told you that I’ve had Sat and Drew modify my arm for sexy occasions?”

Reed’s eyes widened. “Since when?!”

“Don’t worry about it. I just like having options with my arm.” Reed’s expression hardens slightly. “We’ll talk about it later, I promise. Just know you’re the first one I’m using it on.”

Reed relaxes. “Okay.”

Shane chuckles and turns his arm over, tapping a few more options and opening menus. Then he bows down, lifting Reed by the thighs again to give his entrance a wet, open-mouthed kiss. Shane can’t wait to feel Reed all over him, but he needs to make this as pleasurable for Reed as possible. “Ready?” Shane asks, trailing kisses up Reed’s inner thigh.

“As I’ll ever be.” 

He doesn’t experience sensation in his right arm except for the weight of it on his shoulder. When he pushes his middle finger into Reed, all he can feel is the quiver of Reed’s thighs underneath his lips. Reed clutches the sheets, chest heaving. Shane strokes his still slick dick, cooing. “You’re doing great. Tell me if it’s uncomfortable, okay?” Reed nods and affirms him through the first part. Shane watches for brown or green or blue light to appear but all he gets are flashes of pink, silver, and yellow. It settles on yellow, and then copper, when Shane starts moving it back and forth.

“How’s that feel?”

“Nice, yeah…” Reed sighs.

Shane looks down at the screen of his arm and taps on one box. There’s a light clink. He presses upward, circling a known sensitive spot. He squeezes the base of Reed’s cock. Reed arches his back, breath stumbling. “How about now?”

“Wh—” A flurry of syllables pass Reed’s mouth without ever linking together. Shane runs the now ribbed finger (one of three) back and forth inside him languidly.

“Another mod. I figured why not with a cybernetic arm, you know? It already has games,” Shane says. Reed manages a breathless laugh. “Ready for another one?” Reed nods. “Are you sure?”

“Don’t make me beg for it,” Reed whines.

“I dunno, that’ll be a little hot,” Shane teases. Reed whines again. Shane laughs and kisses the inside of Reed’s thigh. “But that’s some fun to explore for next time.”

Shane repositions himself, prone below Reed, as he presses two fingers into Reed. He mouths alongside Reed’s length, though not yet putting it back into his mouth. Reed squirms again, not out of discomfort but to push his body closer to Shane’s fingers. He can feel the tremors that pulse through Reed as he quickens his pace manually, making sure to draw waves against that bundle of nerves inside Reed. Then, after a quick glance at the screen, he taps another box. There’s a muffled buzz. Reed cries out. His hands fly into Shane’s hair.

“Fuck,” he exhales over and over again.

“You like?” Shane asks before he leads Reed’s cock into his mouth, sucking on the swollen tip then flicking his tongue at the opening. Reed trembles and moans in response. “I’ll take that as a hell yes.”

Now ribbed and vibrating, Shane thrusts his fingers to the same tempo his heart is beating in. His head is trapped between Reed’s thighs. He’s still able to bob his head up and down around Reed, ravenously sucking him off as his fingers worked Reed from the inside. Reed doesn’t say anything longer than one syllable or a moan. All of them sound great, but Shane favors “Don’t. Stop.” the most. He’s too busy relishing in the symphony he’s able to elicit from Reed and how Reed’s beginning to buck into his mouth that he almost misses how Reed’s hips stutter and how his stomach clenches.

“Shane! Shane, I—!” Reed’s breath shudders. Several colors zip across his bloodstream at once. Too many for Shane to note, but it’s still glorious.

With his free hand, Shane presses Reed’s dick against his mouth, stroking hit where his mouth isn’t. “Cum for me, baby. I wanna see you cum.” Following two more strokes, Reed spills hot and wet over his fingers. Shane hurries to catch it in his mouth. Another shudder rocks Reed’s body. A gold glow bleeds through Shane’s lids as he slides his mouth over Reed’s pulsing cock. He tastes like a storm still, masking the somewhat unpleasant taste with a tingle and the whisper of lightning. Shane sucks him clean and dry. Reed settles into the bed, fingers releasing the roots of Shane’s hair. He twitches one more time when Shane pulls away.

Shane looks down at the sticky substance left on the back of his fingers. It glitters under the dim light from both the room and Reed. He tilts his hand in different directions to watch the colors shift, amused, before he starts licking them clean.

“What are you doing?” Reed asks.

“Waste not, want not, babe,” Shane answers. “Did you know your cum glitters?”

“Um…” Some pink appears with the gold, especially around his neck. “No. I didn’t really masturbate a lot. When I did, there was a lot of shame attached to it that I couldn’t look at myself and—”

Shane kisses him quiet. Their tongues mingle. Reed stiffens for a moment, tasting himself, but relaxing into the kiss. Shane drags his still waiting, hard cock against Reed. Shane moves his lips back to Reed’s neck, on the opposite side of a hickey that’s blossoming over Reed’s pulse. “You taste nice, don’t you?”

“I…I really can’t say…It’s not bad, I guess,” Reed replies, wrapping his arms around Shane. He’s so warm and the little shocks return with every rut.

“Do you want to keep going?” Shane pauses and props himself up with both elbows. “We can stop.”

Reed looks down. “You’re still…up.”

Shane chuckles. “I can take care of myself if you’re not feeling up to more.”

He thinks about it for a moment. His glow turns complete silver. “No. Keep going. I want to feel you in me.” That is so delicious to hear.

Shane kisses Reed again before positioning himself between Reed’s legs. He strokes his cock with his metal arm, lathering it with lube, the ribbed fingers making him shudder in the process. Reed’s legs are draped over his thighs. His eyes flutter close and his jaw drops when he finally pushes himself through Reed’s ass. Reed moans with him. “Fuck,” he says inside a long exhale, then again in a long inhale through his teeth. Reed’s tight hole provides perfect friction when he inches deeper and deeper. Once he’s balls deep, Shane swears he’s about to bust right there, but he keeps himself together.

It takes a moment for his vision to focus when he opens his eyes. His hands move from Reed’s thighs to Reed’s waist. The silver and yellow and violet glow of Reed’s blood peeks through Shane’s skin. The colors change more frequently at the pulse underneath a hickey and his wrists, and his thigh. Shane bites his lips as he thrusts. A broken moan follows the second one. “Feel good so far?”

“Fuck yes,” Reed moans.

“That’s all I need to hear.”

Shane fucks him slow and steady. The glow follows his biological hand from where it goes to play with Reed’s nipple, to stroke Reed’s dick, and to spank Reed’s thigh—that last one earns Shane a shock. Yellow ripples up to Reed’s waist and down to Reed’s knee as a bolt of it arcs between them when Shane pulls away. They both laugh between their moans. Shane starts to increase the tempo, rolling his hips to a beat that only he hears. Reed glows brighter and he feels warmer around him as Reed tightens around him.

Before long, he’s going down on Reed hard and fast, bodies pressed into one another so Shane can feel every quiver and hear every moan as it rips through Reed. He worries, for a moment, that Reed’s going to actually combust from his heat and his glow and the sparks that keep arcing over their bodies.

“Keep going,” Reed pleads when Shane pauses to point it out. “It feels so good. So fucking good.” Reed rolls his hips up to Shane’s. Shane can’t breathe in that moment. Reed rakes his fingers across Shane’s back as he digs his heels into the small of Shane’s back, pushing Shane deeper in. It stings for a moment but it’s snuffed by the pleasure that continues to slam through Shane the longer he’s inside Reed. “Keep going please.”

They kiss. Once, Shane had a tally of how many times he and Reed have kissed. They were so rare that he felt he had to mark the moments. He’s lost count now and it’s for the best. A jolt of energy jumps between their lips when they part. “Do you want to try a different position?”

“Why not?”

Shane reattaches their lips. His metal arm slides under Reed’s waist, carrying most of his weight. Shane sits up with Reed secure in his grasp. Reed settles on Shane’s lap. He chokes on his breath, breaking the kiss. His nails dig into Shane’s back. Meanwhile, Shane rolls his head, crying out. With Reed being on top, he struggles to maintain composure. He can’t end this here. The pleasure is peaking too fast and Shane wants nothing more than to extend this for as long as he can.

His hands find purchase around Reed’s supple ass. He squeezes both cheeks while Reed’s nails dig into his skin. Hot, ragged breath ghosts over Shane’s shoulder. Reed bites into it when Shane moves him up and then down. He moan struggles to form when Reed begins to move himself in short, unsure motions. Shane rolls his hips upward. Reed holds him tighter as more flashes of light color the room and follow Shane’s hands as they rise from Reed’s ass to his spine to the back of his head.

“Just like that, babe,” Shane murmurs. He leads Reed’s gyrating hips to a more cohesive pattern that has Shane sweating more and breathing less. “Fuck. Keep doing that. You’re getting it,” he manages to say. He buries his face into Reed’s shoulder, kissing him there. “That’s so fucking good. You’re a natural!” He laughs.

Reed shakes with conflicted laughter. “Shut the fuck up.”

Shane begins to time his thrusts with Reed’s motions. He’s so lost in the storm of pleasure that Reed put him in that he doesn’t realize he’s reached the point of orgasm until his eyes shoot open in time for him to unload. He whimpers into Reed’s chest, hips jerking into Reed for a few pumps. The room spins. His vision blurs. It takes him more than a second to catch his breath. He twitches in Reed’s arms. Reed, who sighs into Shane’s cheek, nails easing off the meat of Shane’s back to settle into Shane’s hair. Shane is shaking so much and he’s so giddy that he starts tearing up a little bit. He wipes his face on Reed’s skin hoping Reed won’t notice. He peppers kisses up Reed’s collar to the hollow of his neck. He pulls out. Reed shudders. His glow remains in gold.

“Wow. Fuck,” he says as he tries to find a way down from where Reed’s brought him. He notes the stickiness on his stomach. Reed’s still hard but he’s up there with him. Gold veins web over his dick. Reed leans back when Shane puts his hand on Reed’s dick again. His knuckles brush against Reed’s stomach as he strokes, gold lights following the motion. He grins at Reed.

“Kiss me. Please kiss me,” Shane says. Reed latches on immediately.

They kiss like it’s the singular thing keeping the other alive. They kiss like they’ve gone days without food or water and the other’s lips are the only source of sustenance. Shane breathes in Reed’s sweat and musk, committing it to memory, promising to remember this moment until they day he dies. He quickens the flick of his wrist. Reed moans into Shane’s mouth and it’s delectable. Lights flash and strobe but Shane doesn’t open his eyes to watch. He’s already experiencing sensory overload with Reed’s bare skin on his and Reed’s tongue on his and the bursts of electricity that zip over them.

Reed melts in his hand. He mewls into their kiss as Shane finishes him off. The lights continue to flash. Even as their kiss loses steam and they’re just doing it in hopes of this not ending at all, the lights remain. It isn’t until they both pull away that Shane notices that a kaleidoscope of colors is running through Reed’s body. Each pulse creates two different colors to pop up. One at the start of the beat, and another in the second. Reed looks at his arm, confused as the colors continue to change. Shane lies Reed down on the bed. He runs his fingers down Reed’s arm, fingers threading together. The colors dim but continue to change from pink, to gold, to silver, to yellow, to copper, to red, to violet.

“Are you okay?” Shane asks.

“Yeah,” Reed says. “I…Nothing I haven’t felt before…’

What happens next is beyond what Shane’s ever seen in his life. He’s seen death straight in the eye and survived it. He’s seen supernovas in close proximity. He’s seen the birth of a new star. He’s seen warp speed and planets where the sky is the ground aliens walk on. He’s seen an android fall in love. But this, the glow that settles in the center of Reed’s chest, is nothing he’s ever seen. Reed’s heart, and the blood vessels surrounding it, is visible under his skin. It pulses with a color that he can’t describe with a different color. There’s no reference for it. He shivers, unsure of what he’s seeing.

“What color is that?” Shane asks.

“I don’t…actually know.” Reed replies. “I’ve seen every color. I know every color. This one…is outside…it’s outside my vocabulary.”

Shane’s eyes widen. “How are you feeling? Are you okay?” Shane thinks about that urban legend Reed shared about how having sex with someone outside his station would kill him.

Reed doesn’t seem to be in distress or in pain. Their eyes meet once more. Reed squeezes Shane’s fingers. With his other hand, he touches Shane’s cheek. That strange color flashes in Shane’s periphery.

“I’ve felt this before...” Reed whispers.

Shane may not be the sharpest shooter but his body reacts before he can understand what it all means. His eyes water. His lip trembles. Reed smiles and kisses him. The color that cannot be named or comprehended brightens when they do.

“I love you,” Shane says. The tips of their lips are still touching when Shane says it. This is the first time Shane’s said it, though it isn’t the first time Shane’s thought it. 

Shane can feel Reed stop breathing and can see the color creep into Reed’s neck. “I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Songs I listened to on repeat for hours on end just to get me through writing this:  
> Check On It - Beyonce (No Rap version)  
> Too Much - Carly Rae Jepsen  
> Gogobebe - Mamamoo


End file.
